Anybody who has sat in front of a computer and played a video game has likely some experience with the ever-popular franchise, The Sims. Now with the fourth edition almost reaching seven full years in age, Electronic Arts are pulling out all of the stops to ensure that consumers come back time and again, splashing the cash on their various Expansion Packs and other ways to extend the game’s replayability.
The Sims 4: Cottage Living is the latest of those Expansion Packs, transporting players to the cosy countryside village of Henford-on-Bagley. There, they are tasked with raising farm animals including chickens, cows and llamas, as well as growing your own food, all within a lush, extremely British setting. Is it as relaxing as it sounds? Not really; but that’s all part of the Sims magic. It’s not supposed to be a metaphorical walk in the park.
Along with the animals you can ‘officially’ own, there are wild rabbits and birds, amongst others, that you can commune with and which will aid you in your countryside living. You can even dress them up if you get friendly enough.
On the topic of clothing, a bunch of exciting new additions are added to your Sim’s wardrobe when you purchase Cottage Living. They’re the expected tweed patterns and such, not really breaking the mold but adding yet another layer of immersiveness for your Sim and their new way of life.
Those of us who enjoy turning into an evil God will also enjoy the new Lactose Intolerant trait that can be assigned to your Sims. Feeding them an extreme amount of dairy leads to some pretty funny consequences and let’s face it, we all enjoy letting our villainous side come out from time to time when it comes to playing The Sims.
My personal favourite additions however are, as is often the case, the Build items. There’s something new in almost every category so no matter your level of expertise when it comes to creating, you can form something magical. The kitchen furniture is exquisite, there’s plenty to decorate your living space with and, if you’re a dab hand with the exterior of your home, you can have it looking like a quaint cottage in the countryside in no time at all.
There are plenty of hours of content to get through here. The Sims 4 seems to be returning to its roots with this Expansion Pack, which is amongst the best we’ve seen from the past 12 months or so. For consistent players, it’s an essential add-on.
The Sims 4: Cottage Living is available now on Xbox consoles, PlayStation consoles, Windows PC and macOS.
Female First was provided a code for The Sims 4: Cottage Living on Xbox Series X in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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